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ROOT CROPS 



FOR 



STOCK FEEDING, 



AND 



HOW TO GROW THEM, 



COMPILED FROM THE PRIZE ESSAYS AND PRACTICAL 
EXPERIENCE. 



EDITED/ BY 

W. ATLEE BURPEE. 







1 

PUBLISHED BY 
W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO., Seed Gkowees, 

Nos. 475 AND 477 North Fifth Street, 
Nos. 476 AND 478 York Avenue, 

PHILADELPHIA. 



Copyrighted, 1888, 
By W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO. 

rHILADELPIIIA, PA. 






^ . 



Press of Wm. F. Fell & Co. 
I220-24 SANSOM S'., 

PHILADELPHIA. 



CONTENTS. 

^ PAGE 

Preface, y 

Root Crops for Stock Feeding, and How to Grow Them, . 9 

The Soiling System in Relation to Winter Feeding, . .10 
The Value of Roots in Fattening Cattle, Swine, etc., . 11 
How Root Crops Increase the Value of the Farm, . , 12 

Advantages of Raising Farm-Garden Crops in Connection 

with the Dairy or Cattle Farm, 12 

Increase of Profits and Decrease of Expenses Attending the 

Growing and Feeding of Root Crops, . . , .13 
Advantages of Roots over Dry Fodder, . . , . 15 
Relative Value of the Different Varieties of Roots for 

Feeding, 17 

How to Manure and Prepare the Ground, . . . .18 

Sowing the Seeds of Carrots, Beets, etc., .... 22 

Cultivation, .......... 24 

Thinning, 25 

Carrots, 26 

Varieties of Roots Grown fcr Stock Feeding, . . 28 

Carrots, 28 

Coreless Half-Long, . . . . , . . 28 

Coreless Long Red, . 29 

Burpee's Improved Long Orange, .... 29 

Danvers Half-Long Orange, 30 

Long Red Altringham, 30 

Large White Vosges, 31 

Large Yellow Belgian, 31 

Large White Belgian, 32 

Ox-Heart, or Guerande, 33 

Saint Vallery, 34 

iii 



IV CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Sugar Beets and Mangel Wurzelr, ..... 35 

Varieties op Beets for Stock Feeding, . . ,37 

Burpee's Improved Blood Turnip, .... 37 

Long Smooth, Blood-Red 37 

Bastian's Half-Long, 38 

A^arieties op Sugar Berts, ...... 38 

White Silesian, 38 

Red-Top, 39 

Lane's Improved Imperial, ..... 40 

Varieties of Mangel Wurzels, 41 

Golden Tankard Yellow-Fleshed, .... 41 

New Kinver Yellow Globe, 42 

Large Yellow Oberndorf, ...... 43 

Yellow or Orange Globe, 44 

Red Globe, 44 

Yellow Ovoid, ........ 45 

Mammoth Prize Long Red, ..... 46 

Parsnips, 47 

Varieties of Parsnips, 47 

Improved Guernsey, ....... 47 

Long Smooth, or Hollow Crown, .... 48 

Ruta Bagas, 48 

Varieties of Ruta Bagas, 49 

Large White, 49 

Laing's Improved Strap-Leaved, .... 50 
Burpee's Improved Purple Top Yellow, . . .50 

Imperial Hardy, 51 

Turnips, 51 

Varieties of Turnips for Stock Feeding, . . 54 

Extra Early Purple-Top Milan, 54 

Large Yellow, or Amber Globe, .... 55 

Yellow Aberdeen, ........ 56 



CONTENTS. V 

PAGE 

Robertson's Golden Ball, or Orange Jelly, ... 56 

Pomeranian White Globe, 56 

Red Top Strap-Leaved, ...... 57 

Early White Flat Dutch, 57 

White Globe Strap-Leaved, 58 

Red Top White Globe, 58 

White Egg, 60 

Jersey Navet, 60 

Long White, or Cowhorn, 51 

Sweet German, 61 

Selecting the Varieties to Grow, 62 

Harvesting, 64 

Storing the Roots, 66 

Storing the Tops, 69 

Feeding, 70 



PREFACE, 



In Burpee's Farm Annual for 1887 we offered 
a series of cash prizes for the best and second- 
best essays on four subjects of importance in 
garden and farm topics ; among these was " Root 
Crops for Stock Feeding, and How to Grow 
Them." While we received in all one hundred 
and twelve essays in competition, but seven of 
these were on root crops. This fact confirmed our 
belief that the value of these crops is compara- 
tively but little known. It is our object in pub- 
lishing this treatise to furnish the needed informa- 
tion in a concise and practical form, showing both 
the advantages of raising roots for feeding purposes 
and also how to grow, store and feed them. 

For the best essays on this subject the first prize 
was awarded to Mr. D. H. Stuart, Farmville, 
Prince Edward County, Virginia, and the second 
prize to Mr. F. E. Carlile, Little York, Washing- 
ton County, Indiana. Although these essays were 
both good, they did not cover the subject as fully 
in detail as we desired, and hence are not pub- 
lished in their original forms, with only additional 

vii 



Vlll PREFACE. 

foot-notes, as are the prize essays on onions, and 
cabbages, and cauliHowers, in our books on those 
subjects. This httle book has been carefully com- 
piled, however, embracing all the important points 
of the prize essays, together with considerable other 
information. As the subject will be new to many 
of our readers, we have also added an illustrated 
descriptive list of the different varieties of roots 
suitable for stock feeding. 

W. Atlee Bukpee. 
Philadelphia, January 11th, 1888. 



ROOT CROPS FOR STOCK FEEDING, 

AND 

HOW TO GROW THEM. 



The rapid settling of the cheap and fertile lands 
of the West, and the low rates of transportation, 
have so reduced the price of cereals, that our 
farmers in the Eastern States can no longer grow 
them on their farms at a profit, without heavy and 
expensive manuring, the natural fertility of the 
soil having been exhausted many years ago. The 
amount of capital invested in the farm also re- 
quires that the eastern farmer shall have a larger 
return per acre than the farmer on virgin prairie 
soil, where the land is obtained for from one-tenth 
to one-quarter the amount required to purchase 
land in the older and more thickly populated 
States. The new land requires but to be plowed 
and planted, and the crops to be harvested, in most 
cases being thrashed and marketed at once, thus 
doing away with the expense of storage barns, 
which enables a farmer to clear a profit on a crop 
of from ten to fifteen bushels of wheat per acre, 
while on the older and higher-priced farms in the 
Eastern States, a crop of twenty bushels per acre 
will barely pay the expenses of raising it. In the 

9 



10 HOW TO GROW 

report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, for 
1886, the average yield of wheat per acre for the 
last six years has been a small fraction over 
twelve bushels per acre ; we believe that fifteen 
bushels per acre would be the average yield for 
the Middle and New England States. It will be 
seen that the farmer who grows wheat on land 
v/orth from sixty to one hundred dollars per acre, 
is losing money on this standard crop. Of course, 
this cannot long continue, and our fiirmers are 
largely turning their attention to increasing their 
bank account and the fertility of their land by the 
fattening of stock and by dairy farming, by 
this means selling the crop in a concentrated and 
higher-priced form, and still retaining the bulk 
of it to return to the land, in the shape of manure. 
Since dairy farming has grown to be one of our 
most important industries, all subjects pertaining 
to it are of interest and importance, and it is our 
object in presenting this treatise to call attention 
to what we believe to be one of the greatest helps 
to profitable farming — the growing and feeding 
of roots. 



THE SOILING SYSTEM IN RELATION TO WINTER 
FEEDING. 

x\ll works on farming, and the leading 
agricultural papers, continually set forth the 
advantages of the soiling system, that is, the grow- 
ing of heavy crops of green food of various sorts 
and feeding the same to the milch cows or cattle 



ROOT CROPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 11 

in the barn, thus greatly increasing the number 
of animals that can be kept on a given number 
of acres, and likewise increasing the quantity of 
manure that can be returned to the soil, so that a 
larger crop can be raised the next season, increas- 
ing the richness of the soil each year until the 
highest state of fertility is attained. 

When cattle, dairy stock, swine and poultry 
are supplied with roots in winter, their general 
health and appearance is much better than when 
supplied with dry foods alone. The roots aid 
them in digesting the dry meals and fodder, and 
impart a free, natural action to the bowels ; this 
tends to keep the skin loose and the coat smooth 
and glossy. 

THE VALUE OF ROOTS IN FATTENING CATTLE, 
SWINE, ETC. 

While cattle and swine fed wholly on roots 
will not take on much flesh, they can be wintered 
in good condition when fed on these alone. When 
the roots are fed with grain or the rich dry meals, 
their value is about three to one, as compared 
with the same weight of hay. Five tons of hay 
per acre is probably as heavy a crop in proportion 
as twenty tons of carrots or forty tons of man- 
gels per acre, and the expense per ton of grow- 
ing the roots is less than the cost of the hay, thus 
refuting the argument of many writers against 
the use of roots, " that they are too expensive to 
raise." The greatly-increased amount of food that 



12 HOW TO GROW 

can be raised per acre, and the superior richness 
of it, can readily be seen from this statement, but 
the root jpar excellence for cattle, etc., is the turnip, 
an enormous crop of which can be raised as a 
second crop on ground that has been well ma- 
nured, at a cost of about five cents per bushel. 

HOW KOOT CROPS INCREASE THE VALUE OF THE 
FARM. 

While the manure from animals fed solely on 
root crops is of low value, the raising and feeding 
of them in connection with grain in various forms 
enable the farmer to keep the largest number of 
cattle possible on a given number of acres, and, by 
keeping the cattle in the best of health, enable 
them to assimilate the largest quantities of rich 
grain food possible, and in both these ways add 
largely to the bulk and value of the manure pile, 
which will assist in the growing of larger crops of 
grains and roots in the succeeding years. This 
increased supply of manure, not only enables the 
farmer to raise large crops of the regular farm 
products, but also makes it possible for him to 
engage in the profitable raising of farm-garden 
crops, when situated within reach of transportation 
to the large cities. 

ADVANTAGES OF RAISING FARM-GARDEN CROPS IN 

CONNECTION WITH THE DAIRY OR 

CATTLE FARM. 

We believe that the raising of what are known 
as Farm-Garden crops, such as onions, cauli- 



BOOT CROPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 



13 



flower, cabbages, melons, beans, etc., m connection 
with dairy farming, is one of the most profit- 
able forms of agriculture at the present time. An 
important gain in the union of root-fed cattle with 
the growing of farm-garden crops is, that not only 
the supply of manure is largely increased, but 
that the land in which the roots have been grown 
is in the very best condition for growing the mar- 
ket vegetables. It is conceded by all growers, 
that roots, especially carrots, are the best crop to 
prepare the soil for a crop of onions. To ensure 
a large crop of roots the ground must be heavily 
manured and thoroughly cultivated throughout 
the season, and the roots and tops are carefully 
fathered, leaving the ground free from weeds or 
litter while the deep cultivation of the crop and 
the action of the roots have left the soil m a fine 
friable condition. In respect to leaving the soil 
in a fine, loose texture, carrots are nearly, if not 
quite, equal to clover. 

INCREASE OF PROFITS AND DECREASE OF EXPENSES 
ATTENDING THE GROWING AND FEED- 
ING OF ROOT CROPS. 
While nearly all farmers are aware of the value 
of roots for feeding, most of them hesitate to raise 
them, partly because the idea is new to them, and 
they do not take readily to novelties of their own 
accord, waiting, rather, for them to be forced upon 
their attention by some agent or by the success- 
ful practice of some progressive neighbor. I he 
idea prevails in the minds of most farmers who 



14 HOW TO GROW 

are not conversant with the subject, that root crops 
are expensive and laborious to raise, but when 
the large amount of food that can be raised per 
acre, as compared with other crops, is taken into 
account, we think the balance in favor of tlie 
roots will readily be seen. We trust, also, that the 
directions for culture, given with the different 
kinds of roots, will prove that it is not such a 
laborious matter to raise a crop of roots as it is 
often thought to be. 

Where the farms are large, the market distant, 
and the price of land, consequently, low, we have 
no doubt it would be cheaper to raise large quanti- 
ties of hay to feed than to depend on roots ; but 
where the farm is of moderate size, and it is 
desired to stock it as heavily as possible, the 
advantages of raising roots is apparent. The 
average crop of mangels is from fifteen to twenty 
tons on good land, with a good coat of manure ; 
by doubling the manure applied, the crop can be 
doubled, thus largely decreasing the price per 
bushel, the sole increase for the second half of the 
crop being the value of the manure and the labor 
of harvesting the roots. The same rule applies to 
the other varieties of roots for feeding, and the 
moral we would draw is, only to plant so large a 
patch of roots as you can manure and cultivate 
well, if you wish to raise them cheaply. To those 
who have never fed roots we would suggest that 
two tons is ample to carry a cow throughout the 
winter, and that by taking this in conjunction 



ROOT CROPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 15 

with the preceding figures, the cost of the winter 
supply and the amount of land that should be 
planted can easily be calculated. 

ADVANTAGES OF EOOTS OVER DRY FODDER. 

Some writers on agricultural topics deny, in the 
first place, that the roots have any medicinal 
properties, and claim that even if they do possess 
such properties, acting to keep the bowels in a 
free and healthy state, the same result can be 
obtained by the use of the rich cake meals, when 
added to the regular dry feed. We think this 
reasoning is weak and not sustained by tlie facts. 
First, there is the natural craving of all animals 
for green food. It is well known that, to obtain 
the most profitable results from cows, they must 
be kept quiet and contented as well as healthy 
and well fed. How can this be done better 
than by giving them such food as they naturally 
crave? We do not recommend the feeding of 
roots alone, but feeding them in conjunction with 
the grain, meals and rich oil cake, so as to produce 
the best results. The roots not only give the bulk 
required in a fresh, green state, but also aid greatly 
in the digestion of the grain or meals. 

By feeding the cow on the rich, dry, concentrated 
food alone, she is forced to the highest production 
in an unnatural manner, and is much more liable 
to disease, especially the " milk fever," which 
carries off so many of the best-bred cows, than 



16 HOW TO GROW 

when the same result is obtained by a mixture of 
fresh feed in her daily rations. 

Secondly, to buy the cake or corn meals neces- 
sitates a greater or less outlay of cash, which must 
be subtracted from the profits, together with the 
interest of the purchase money, while in feeding 
the roots the outlay is the interest of the invest- 
ment in the land, the manure applied, and the 
labor of cultivation. A A^ery small part of the out- 
lay is in actual money, and as for time and ma- 
nure, these are the farmer's working capital, and 
must be employed in some profitable manner. 
Can they be more profitably employed than when 
engaged in raising, on his own land, the food 
which he will require for the winter feeding of his 
stock? 

This need of fresh food for winter use is becom- 
ing more strongly felt each season, and many pro- 
gressive farmers liave tried to produce it by the 
use of ensilage. This requires not only large and 
expensive pits for storage, but requires also con- 
siderable skill and experience on the part of the 
farmer, to preserve it in just the right condition; 
so we think that the use of roots for this purpose 
will be much more satisfactory to the average 
farmer. Again, many of our creameries refuse to 
receive the milk from cows fed on ensilage, while 
the feeding of carrots and ruta bagas increases the 
richness of the milk and l)utter very perceptibly. 



ROOT CROPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 17 

RELATIVE VALUE OF THE DIFFERENT VARIETIES 
OF ROOTS FOR FEEDING. 

Taking the value of good hay at one dollar per 
hundred pounds as the basis of our calculations, 
and the average value of the roots from the Gov- 
ernment analytical tests, together with the figures 
of practical farmers, we find that — 

Carrots, Parsnips and Mangels are worth 

Irom 20 to 30 cts. per bus. 

Ruta bagas or Swedes are worth from 20 " 25 " " 

For feeding to Cattle or Swine, Turnips are 

worth from 12 "15 " " 

The different kinds possessing different values, 
the question at once arises, why not confine our- 
selves to the most valuable? There are several 
reasons for not doing so: first, all the different 
roots mentioned have each some particular merit, 
suiting it, above the others, to a peculiar condition 
of soil and climate. Second, the desire to furnish 
a variety of food, and to feed it at the time when 
it is in the best condition, that the relish of the 
animal may be kept up to the highest point, 
and so result in the largest yield of milk. Third, 
carrots are ready for use early in the fall, as soon 
as the green soiling crops have been destroyed by 
frost, and they are not good keepers, being liable to 
sprout and grow. Mangels should hardly be fed 
before the middle of January, but if carefully 
stored, will keep in good condition throughout the 
winter, while if the parsnip is left in the ground 
until spring it acquires a stronger saccharine 



18 HOW TO GROW 

quality, and is more valuable for feeding than in 
the fall. 

HOW TO MANURE AND PKEPARE THE GROUND. 

The plot to be planted in roots should be as 
nearly level as possible, so that there will be no 
danger of washing the young plants out by 
heavy rains, but at the same time it should be 
high enough or have sufficient slope to be well 
drained. The soil should be of a loose, loamy 
texture, though mangels and turnips can be grown 
on a sandy soil that would not be at all suitable 
for carrots. The heavier the texture of the loam 
the better it will hold and retain the large quanti- 
ties of manure which are required to produce the 
heaviest crops. 

The surface should be free from stones or 
litter that will be in the way of bringing the seed 
bed to a proper state of fineness, or that would 
damage the young plants in subsequent cultiva- 
tion. The better the ground has been manured 
and the more thoroughly it has been cultivated 
for the preceding crop, the larger will be the crop 
of roots. With the exception of turnips, root 
crops can be grown on the same ground several 
years in succession if the supply of manure is 
kept up, so that what might seem an expensive 
preparation of the land for a single crop, becomes 
much less when the cost is divided by the num- 
ber of years for which the crop can be grown on 
the same ground ; not only this, but the stones 



ROOT CROPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 19 

once removed, the ground is in better condition 
for all succeeding years. 

The amount of manure applied and the weight 
of the crop are in direct proportion to each other : 
thus, on fairly good land, manuring with twenty 
large two-horse loads of good rich manure will 
result in a crop of about twenty tons of mangels 
per acre, while an application of twice the quantity 
would result in a crop of forty tons, or even more, 
in a favorable season. In Scotland, where the 
summer is cool and moist and season longer than 
with us, crops of sixty to eighty tons per acre are 
frequently grown, and as the tops are carefully 
gathered and fed there, this results in the enormous 
amount of seventy to eighty tons of food raised to 
the acre. 

While this rule of the heavy manuring increas- 
ing the bulk of the crop is everywhere true, the 
manure must be applied with judgment, as if 
applied too heavily on poorly-drained land, or in a 
wet season, the beets would continue to grow too 
late in the fall, and would not be sufficiently 
ripened, thus greatly diminishing their keeping 
and feeding value. 

Where the soil is in good rich condition to the 
depth of ten or twelve inches, it should be plowed 
as deeply as possible, and if some very long-rooted 
variety of beet or carrot is to be grown, it will be 
of advantage to loosen and turn over the sub- 
soil, without raising any of it to the surface. 
The ground should then be rolled with a heavy 



20 HOW TO GROW 

roller or gone over with a good clod crusher, to 
break up all lumps that may be on the surface. 
The land is now ready for the manure, which 
should be in as hne and well-rotted condition as 
it is possible to have it. The finer the manure 
is, the better it will be for inducing a quick, strong 
growth in the roots early in the season, and by 
the time that it is exhausted the further growth 
of the roots will be toward ripening and devel- 
oping their rich feeding 'qualities in a proper 
manner. If the manure is forked over once or 
twice in the barnyard, and spread with one of 
the new patent spreading wagons, it will reach the 
ground in the best possible condition. 

The manure being evenly spread over the sur- 
face, the ground is cross-plowed to the depth of 
from four to five inches, and the surface alternately 
rolled until it is as fine as a hand-raked garden bed. 
This can easily be accomplished if the soil is 
worked at just the right state of dampness to 
crumble up easily ; if worked when either too wet 
or too dry to do this, it will be almost impossible 
to bring it to the right condition without hand 
raking. 

If mangels are the crop to be grown, and the 
seed is not to be sown at once, a thousand pounds 
of coarse or refuse salt should be sown on the 
freshly-plowed ground and harrowed in, as it has 
a wonderful effect in producing a large crop of 
these roots ; if the seed is to be sown at once, the 
salt should not be applied until the young plants 



ROOT CROPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 21 

are from three to four inches in height, and should 
then be broadcasted and worked in with the culti- 
vator. The use of salt gives a quick growth and 
large crop. If the ground can be prepared two or 
three weeks in advance of the proper time for 
sowing, and then harrowed once a week until 
wanted, it will bring the surface into still finer 
condition, and will destroy any w^eeds that may 
be in the surface soil. 

In plowing the land and turning under the 
manure, the depth to w^hich the roots of the vari- 
ety to be raised penetrate the soil must be taken 
into account, or it may happen that the manure 
wdll be placed so far under the surface as to put 
it out of reach until late in the season ; w^hereas, 
it is desirable that they should be fed in the early 
stages of their growth and checked in time to 
become well ripened. 

The land for turnips should be prepared in the 
same manner and kept well harrowed until 
wanted for planting, though the first plowing 
should not be over six or eight inches in depth, 
and where they are to be raised as a second crop, 
if the ground is plowed and made from five to six 
inches deep, it w^ill be sufficient, unless the manure 
for the first crop was buried deeper, in which case 
it should be returned to the surface. 

Where the supply of barnyard manure is not 
large enough to admit of such heavy manuring, 
commercial fertilizers may be used instead. These 
can be used to the best advantage in raising car- 



22 HOW TO GROW 

rots and beets, and can be applied at the rate of 
one thousand to fifteen hundred pounds per acre, 
and of the least advantage when applied to the 
turnip crop, when not over two or three hundred 
pounds per acre should be used. If it is desired 
to use both manures in connection with the crop, 
the long, coarse barnyard manure could be spread 
and plowed down in the fall and returned to the 
surface in the spring plowing, and enough phos- 
phate applied to bring the ground up to the proper 
state of richness to ensure a heavy crop. 

The use of commercial fertilizers in connection 
with the root crops has the advantage of quickly 
freeing the elements in the soil needed by the plant 
to perfect its growth, so that the root attains a 
large size early in the season and is well ripened 
by the time that they should be harvested and 
stored. 

SOWING THE SEED OF CARROTS, BEETS, ETC. 
For this purpose, every farmer who plants over 
half an acre of roots should have a small-sized 
drill, as it will about save its cost in a single 
season. It should be a simple seed sower, and not 
a drill combined with a hoeing and plowing ma- 
chine ; not only is the plain style much cheaper, 
but it works much more reliably, and is not so 
apt to break or get out of order. These machines 
need only to run the first row by the line, as an 
arm marks off the second row as the first one is 
sown. The drill should be entrusted to a careful 



ROOT CROPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 23 

hand who can be depended on to see that the rows 
are exactly straight and at even distances apart, 
that no places are missed by the machine getting 
choked, and that the rows are covered at an even 
and proper depth. Where the patch is small, or for 
some other reason the sowing is to be done by hand, 
the seed can be sown in continuous drills, as is done 
in the garden ; but we think a better way would be 
to stretch a line where the row is to be, and run a 
wooden wheel along it, having projecting knobs or 
teeth on its circumference at the proper distance 
apart for the roots to grow. This implement 
could easily be made by any farmer, and would 
save a great deal of time not only in the sowing 
of the seed, but in the subsequent thinning of the 
crop, and not nearly so much seed would be used 
as in sowing in the open drill ; the projecting teeth 
should be just as long as the seed is to be buried 
in depth, and four or five seeds of parsnip or 
carrot should be dropped in each place, while one 
or two beet seed would be sufficient to each place. 
When the seed has been dropped for the whole 
row it can be covered with a hand roller, or can be 
trodden in with the foot as dropped. Sowing the 
seed with a good drill will take the following 
quantities of seed per acre, when planted in drills 
sufficiently far apart to admit of horse culture — 
that is, two and one-half feet apart. 

Beets 6 lbs. of seed per acre. 

Carrots 4 " " " 

Parsnips 5 '' "' " 

Turnips 2 " .i< •• w 



24 HOW TO GROW 

Where the crop is to be worked with wheel 
hoes, and the rows to be from eighteen to twenty- 
four inches apart, about one-third more seed will be 
required. In planting the seed the size the vari- 
ety of root sown attains must be taken into 
account, and to produce the best results they 
should stand as thickly in the row as they can be 
grown, about three inches apart for small carrots, 
five to six for the larger-growing kinds and for 
parsnips, while beets and large turnips should be 
about eight inches apart. Larger roots can be 
grown if more room is given, but are not nearly 
so valuable for feeding purpose as those of medium 
and small size. It has frequently been proven 
by analytical as well as practical tests, that the 
medium-size beet contains nearly twice the per- 
centage of sugar that the large, overgrown one 
does. 

CULTIVATION. 

Cultivation should begin as soon as the young 
plants are large enough to permit the row to be 
seen, and should be kept up until it is time for the 
roots to be ripened off. As the roots grow in size 
and take a firm hold of the soil, the cultivator 
must be run deeper and deeper, working the soil 
up fine and loose deeply as possible and letting the 
air down to the roots. Where the cultivation is 
done with wheel hoes, the soil can be loosened to 
a much greater depth if it is first gone over with a 
hand plow, but we would not advise the planting 
of the deep-growing kinds, except where they are 



ROOT CROPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 25 

to be cultivated by horse power, as the soil cannot 
be stirred deeply enough to produce the best 
growth in them with the w^heel hoe. 

Some years ago carrots and beets were exten- 
sively sown on ridges ; that is, two furrows were 
cast together and the seed sown in a drill on top 
of this ridge. This was deemed of advantage for 
several reasons, one of which was that the young 
seedlings were in a well-drained situation, but it 
frequently happened, if they were planted a little 
late, the soil was too dry for them to germinate 
quickly and the young seedlings sometimes burned 
up ; the main advantage of the ridges was, that 
horse cultivation could be done at once without 
danger to the young roots, as they were safely 
elevated and were worked with the hand hoe until 
well started ; another advantage was, that in har- 
vesting the long-rooted varieties the dirt could be 
plowed away from one side, and they could easily 
be pulled, as the ridge prevented them from pene- 
trating the ground so deeply. This method of 
planting has almost entirely disappeared, as the 
labor involved was much more than was compen- 
sated by the advantages gained. 

THINNING. 

This should be done as soon as the young plants 
have made the third or fourth leaf, and only one 
plant should be left in a place ; where the seed is 
in clumps or hills, all but the best one must be 
pulled out by hand. When the seed is in continu- 



26 HOW TO GROW 

ous drills it can be clumped to the proper distance 
apart with a sharp, narrow-bladed hoe, and the 
balance pulled out by hand a week or so later. 
The use of the hoe in clumping will save a great 
deal of hand labor. 

CARROTS. 

These rank high among the most nutritious 
roots for feeding, and are especially valuable for 
feeding to milking cows. Not only do they greatly 
increase the quantity and richness of the milk, 
but they impart that rich color to the butter which 
it now requires to make it salable at the best 
figures, and for which the creameries and many 
farmers depend on artificial colorings that are 
more or less injurious to the health of the con- 
sumer. The greatest disadvantage in raising car- 
rots for winter feeding is that, without they are 
stored in well-ventilated cellars where they can be 
well aired whenever the state of the weather will 
permit, they do not keep well. Where they can- 
not be kept in this manner, we would advise the 
raising of a sufficient supply to feed until the first 
or fifteenth of January, and depending on the 
mangels and other roots after that date. Unlike 
the other roots, carrots will keep better if the roots 
are in a comparatively green and growing state 
when harvested, and if a slice of the crown is cut 
off when they are topped, it will keep them from 
sprouting, which they are very apt to do when the 
top is left on. As will be readily seen from the 



ROOT CROPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 27 

above statement, it is a matter of policy not to sow 
the crop too soon, so that while we would advise 
the preparation of the ground early, and the keep- 
ing of it worked until needed for planting, we 
would not sow the seed before the first of June, 
for the large-growing varieties, and even later for 
the small, early kinds. 

Carrots can be grown so closely together that 
the roots become flattened against each other when 
matured, but for our own use we would thin out 
to three inches apart for the medium-sized varie- 
ties and to four and five inches apart in the row 
for large kinds. The carrot delights in a rich, 
light loam, but can be well grown in almost any 
of the heavier soils, providing the soil is not too 
wet; where this is the case, it returns to a root 
nearly resembling its original parent and becomes 
of small size, woody and worthless for feeding 
purposes. 



VARIETIES OF HOOTS, 

GROWN FOE STOCK FEEDING. 



CARROTS. 



CORELESS HALF-LONG. 




CORELESS HAT.P-I,0?rG CARROT, CORELESS LONG RKD CARROT. 

This is a very early carrot of fine quality ; the 
skin is smooth, and both the skin and the flesh are 
28 



CARROTS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 29 

very rich colored. The flesh is fine grained, of 
excellent flavor, and entirely without core. In 
the young or early state it is of fine quality for 
table use. 

CORELESS LONG RED. 

A very handsome variety, growing from twelve 
to sixteen inches in length, and from two to three 
inches in diameter. It is a stump-rooted variety, 
being of large diameter throughout its length, giv- 
ing a large bulk of roots for the amount of land 
occupied. It is of perfect form, has a very rich 
coloring, and is of excellent quality for table use. 
It imparts richness to the milk of cows fed on this 
variety, and greatly improves the color of the 
butter. 

BURPEE'S IMPROVED LONG ORANGE. 

This is a greatly-improved strain of the long 
orange, the quality of the new strain being much 
superior to the old sort, w^hich was generally 
grown as a field variety for feeding purposes only. 
The roots grow remarkably smooth and uniform 
in shape, being always well formed and average of 
a larger size than the old variety. The length of 
the root is about six times its diameter, and though 
it penetrates the soil deeply, it also grows about 
one-quarter of its entire length above ground, 
forming a good handle by which to pull it up 
wdien harvesting. It is a good keeper, and forms 
a highly-nutritious food for stock. 



30 



VARIETIES OF 



DANVERS HALF-LONG ORANGE. 

This variety originated 
among the market gardeners 
of Danvers, Mass., from the 
same source as the widely- 
known and popular yellow 
onion, which also bears the 
name of " Danvers." In that 
locality the raising of carrots 
is a special feature, and 
twenty to thirty tons per acre 
is not considered as an unusu- 
ally large crop. The smooth, 
symmetrical form of this va- 
riety is well shown in the 
illustration, and it is claimed 
by the Danvers growers that 
it will yield the greatest bulk 
per acre, with the shortest 
length of root, of any carrot now in culti- 
vation. The root is of rich dark orange 
color, and is especially valuable to the 
dairy farmer who makes butter and cheese 
from his milk, adding greatly to their 
rich coloring. This variety does well, 
and produces large crops under widely- 
varying condition of soil, and, owing to the short 
ness of its roots, it is very easily harvested. 




DANVKRS 

HALF- LONG 

ORANGK CARROT 



BURPEE S 

IMPROVED 

LONG 

OKANGE 

CARROT. 



LON(; RED ALTRINGHAM. 

This kind is similar to the Long Orange in 
growth, but the flesh is of a bright red color. It 



CARROTS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 



31 



is also more slender in shape, and while some- 
times attaining a length of twenty inches in deep, 
rich soil, grows but one or two inches above the 
surface. The flesh is of a very fine quality for 
table use, but owing to its great length, it requires 
a deep, rich soil to produce a large crop, and a 
great amount of labor to harvest the roots, which 
frequently break in the digging. 






LARGE WHITE VOSGES. 

This variety is a large-growing kind, that is 
especially suited for soils 
that are not very deep. It 
is very productive, easily 
pulled and is a good keep- 
ing variety when stored 
for winter feeding. This 
carrot, unlike the White 
Belgian, grows entirely 
below the surface. It is 
very broad at the top, aver- 
aging from four to five 
inches in diameter, and is 
about eight inches in 
height, tapering gradually 
from the shoulder to the point of the root. Grow- 
ing beneath the surface, the entire skin, as well as 
the flesh, is pure white in color. 

L.\RGE YELLOW BELGL\N. 

This variety attains about the same length as 
the White Belgian, but does not equal it in diam- 




32 



VARIETIES OF 



eter, which is only about one-sixth of its length. 
The root grows about one-quarter of its entire 
length above the surface, and this portion is of a 
deep green color, while the portion 
growing below the surface is of a 
pale orange color. It is a good 
keeper, and cattle fed upon it soon 
attest its nutritious properties. 



LARGE WHITE BELGIAN. 

This attains the largest size, and 
will yield more in bulk than any 
other kind grown. A prominent 
French writer states, that there 
is hardly a farm in France upon 
which this carrot is not grown for 
feeding stock, especially horses. 
The root is thick and long, grow- 
ing from one-quarter to one-third 
of its length above the surface. The 
flesh is of a light green or bronze 
color above the soil, while that 
portion growing underground is 
a yellowish white. This is the 
heaviest cropping variety, in this 
respect rivaling the mangel w^ur- 
zel, and, owing to its growth partly 
above ground, the crop can be 
pulled by hand, if a furrow is 
plowed close to the side of the row 
to loosen the soil. It produces a large crop of 



LARGE WHITE 
BELGIAN. 



leaves, which make an excellent soiling food if 



CARROTS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 



33 



fed when the crop is harvested. This variety 
should be gathered before there is danger of frost, 
as a very hght frost (four or five degrees) will 
greatly injure its quality and value for feeding 
purposes 

OX-HEART OR GUERANDE. 

This new carrot comes from France, and is a 
decided advance in shape, as it combines large 
bulk with a medium length of root, as will be seen 




OX-IIICART CARROT. 



from the illustration. It is a thick carrot, five or 
six inches in length, three to four inches in diam- 
eter at the shoulder, and very blunt at the bottom 
of the root. It. grows rapidly, and single roots 
often weigh a pound each when full grown. It is a 
splendid variety for a light or shallow soil, and 
will produce large crops when the soil is well 
manured. The neck of the root is very fine, and 
the few leaves are of small size, which enables them 

3 



34 



CARROTS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 



to be grown very closely in the row. The color of 
the root is orange red on the outside, shading to 

yellow at the core. It is 
of excellent quality for 
table use, being tender 
and fine flavored. 

SAINT VALLERY. 

This is a large, handsome 
variety, of intermediate 
length. The appearance 
of the roots is very hand- 
some, as they grow very 
regular and smooth, and 
are entirely free from all 
small rootlets. They are 
of good size, being from 
ten to twelve inches in 
length and two to three 
inches in diameter at the 
top, tapering gradually 
from the shoulder to the 
tip of the root. The leaves 
are small and very few for the size of the roots, and 
it is a very valuable kind, not only for its great 
productiveness, but also for its rich, handsome 
color and the thick, sweet and tender flesh. 




SAINT VALLERY CARROT. 



MANGEL VVUEZELS FOB STOCK FEEDING. 35 

SUGAR BEETS AND MANGEL 
WURZELS. 



Taking into consideration the value of these 
roots for feeding, the ease with which they can be 
grown, the enormous bulk they yield per acre, and 
the widely-varying conditions of soil and climate 
under which they can be grown, they are, without 
doubt, the most valuable roots to grow for feeding 
purposes. The question is frequently asked us, 
" What is the difference between the sugar beets 
and the mangel wurzels?" For stock feeding 
there is no difference, excepting that some of the 
best varieties of the sugar beets contain a higher 
percentage of rich saccharine food than a poor, 
coarse-fleshed mangel, that has been grown for its 
large size, under the mistaken idea that a large 
bulk of roots is the only object to be sought in 
growing them. 

The making of sugar from beets has created a 
demand for beets the flesh of which is entirely 
white or colorless, and this demand has resulted 
in the production of mangels which grow nearly 
their whole length under the surface, and the flesh 
of which is either entirely or very nearly colorless^ 
and these kinds are known by the special name of 
Sugar Beets. The advantages of these" beets to 
the sugar manufactories will readily be seen, as 
the process of clarifying the sugar is very much 
simplified by using the light-fleshed beets. 

We also wish to call the attention of the root 



36 VARIETIES OF 

grower to the large-growing varieties of what are 
known as table beets, of wiiich we describe three 
varieties, and which, while they do not produce 
the bulk of crop per acre which can be grow^n in 
the form of mangels, we think surpass them in the 
amount of rich food taken from the same area. 
As these beets do not attain such large size, they 
can be grown much closer together, and where the 
wheel hoe is depended upon for cultivation the 
row^s can be made as close as eighteen inches 
apart, thus giving a very large yield per acre if 
the ground is properly enriched. The seed of 
beets should be sown early and should be of the 
best quality; this early sowing of the seed not 
only gives the roots longer time to grow and ripen 
properly, but the seed germinates much more 
evenly in the moist condition of the soil in the 
early spring. We would advise liaving the seed 
sown by the fifteenth or twentieth of June, and if 
it can be done earlier it will be of advantage. It 
has been claimed that the mangel seed does not 
germinate reliably, leaving blank spaces in the 
rows, but we have never noticed this in our ow^n 
sowings made as above, and we think the trouble 
is largely with the inferior quality of the seed. 
The distance apart to which the 3^oung plants are 
thinned must be determined by the diameter 
which the full-grown roots attain, which, of course, 
varies with the kind ; as a general rule, we would 
say that there should be one inch at least of clear 
space between each perfected beet and its imme- 



BEETS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 



37 



diate neighbors. From their manner of growth, 
the root growing a good portion of its length 
above the soil, beets are much more easily har- 
vested than the varieties of carrots and parsnips, 
which is quite an item to be considered when large 
crops are grown. Where blanks occur in the row, 
young plants can be transplanted before the thin- 
ning out is done, if the ground is sufficiently 
wet, care being taken that the tap root is not 
injured; the transplanting should be done on a 
rainy day. 

VARIETIES OF BEETS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 

BURPEE'S IMPROVED BLOOD TURNIP BEET. 

This is a carefully-selected strain of the Early 
Blood Turnip, and is re- 
markable for the perfect 
symmetry of shape, the 
freedom from small fibrous 
roots and fine quality. 
It is a splendid table 
variety, and when raised 
in large quantities for win- 
ter feeding to stock should 
not be planted too early 
in the season, as a good 
crop can be raised if plant- 
ed as late as the first of 
July. 




btjrpek's improved blood 
turnip beet. 



LONG SMOOTH, BLOOD-RED BEET. 

This is an excellent late variety, both for the 
table and for cattle. The beets are long and free 



38 



VARIETIES OF 



from small roots, the flesh is a deep blood red, and 
is very sweet and tender. It can be planted 
earlier than the preceding, as it attains a large 
size and well resists the hot, 
dry weather of the summer. 
To produce a large crop, 
the seed should be sown not 
later than the middle of June. 
These beets keep wxll through- 
out the winter when carefully 
stored. 

BASTIAN'S HALF-LONG BEET. 

A handsome variety, of 
very quick growth, being 
ready for table use with the 
second earliest. If planted 
about the middle of July, it 
will make large, fine roots, of 
rich quality, and will be a 
very valuable addition to the 
winter rations of the stock. 
BASTiAN-s HALF-LONG BEET. Tlic roots do uot peuetrato 
the soil so deeply as the preceding kinds, while 
the color is of the same deep blood red. 




VARIETIES OF SUGAR BEETS. 
WHITE SILESIAN SUGAR BEET. 

This is the original variety from which all the 
various large white mangels, or sugar beets, have 
been raised. The root grows almost entirely under- 
ground, is about ten inches in length and about 



SUGAR BEETS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 



39 



three inches in diameter in the average specimens. 
While the kinds known as sugar beets do not attain 
the size of mangels, they contain nearly twice as 
much available food for stock purposes as the 
coarser mangel, so that what is lost in bulk is 
gained in quality, and the relative amount of food 
that can be taken from the soil in a crop of man- 
gels and a crop of sugar beets is about the same. 
Under average culture in a good season, this vari- 
ety would yield about fifteen tons per acre, and the 
medium and small-sized beets would contain as 
high as ten or twelve per cent, of sugar. 

RED-TOP SUGAR BEET. 

This is a productive, hardy 
and symmetrically shaped va- 
riety that is very extensively 
grown in France. The foliage 
is abundant, standing erect, so 
that it admits of close cultiva- 
tion. The root is slender, being 
about three to four inches in 
diameter at the shoulder, and 
tapers gradually to a point, re- 
sembling strongly in form the 
St. Vallery carrot. The upper 
portion of the root is rose col- 
ored, while the lower portion is 
white. Under average condi- 
tions, this variety will yield 
crop of nearly twenty tons to the 
acre, containing about twelve 
per cent, of sugar. 




40 VARIETIES OF 

LANE'S IMPROVED IMPERIAL SUGAR BEET. 

This is the most popular variety and the best 
sugar beet to grow for feeding purposes, as it will 




LANE'S IMPBOVED IMPEBIAL 
SUGAR BEET. 



NEW GOLDEN TANKARD YELLOW- 
FLESHED MANGEL. 



equal most of the varieties of mangels in the 
amount of bulk and weight, while averaging as 



MANGEL WURZELS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 41 

high as eight per cent, of sugar in its composition. 
One specimen of this variety contained as high as 
11.41 per cent, of sugar as analyzed by the De- 
partment of Agriculture (see page 342, Depart- 
ment of Agriculture Report of 1886). This variety 
has yielded from thirty to forty tons per acre, at 
the cost of five cents per bushel ! It grows to a 
large size, is free from small roots, and the crop is 
very easily harvested. The flesh is a fine white, 
and is very crisp, tender and sweet. 

VARIETIES OF MANGEL WURZELS. 
GOLDEN TANKAED YELLOW-FLESHED M.VNGEL. 

This new and distinct variety is a most im- 
portant addition to our list of roots for stock 
feeding, as it contains a smaller percentage of 
water and a larger percentage of sugar than any 
other variety of mangel. A special feature is the 
rich, deep yellow color of the flesh, the rich ap- 
pearance of which is fully sustained by its nutri- 
tious and milk-producing qualities. In England, 
where roots are very extensively grown for feed- 
ing, it is considered indispensable for dairy pur- 
poses. Large dairy farmers state that they are 
not only able to obtain a higher price per gallon 
for milk from cows fed on this mangel, but also 
that the cows are in a much healthier and better 
condition fed on hay and the Golden Tankard than 
when fed entirely on hay (see chapter on feeding.) 
Sheep fed on this variety thrive far better than on 
other kinds, and if the Golden Tankard is fed to 



42 



VARIETIES OF 



them mixed with other mangels, the sheep will 
pick out every piece of it before touching the 
others. On account of its peculiar shape it can be 
left very close together in the rows, therefore giv- 
ing the largest number of beets to the row. In 
England, where the summer is moist and heavy 
manuring is practiced, it has yielded upward of 
seventy-five tons per acre. As will be seen from 
the illustration, it grows partly above ground, and 
can be harvested very easily and quickly. 



NEW KINVER YELLOW GLOBE MANGEL, 

A writer in the Lon- 
don Times says of this 
variety : " This splendid 
variety possesses most 
distinctive features in 
size, shape and color. 
Unlike the ordinary 
Globe Mangel, it is of 
greater width at the top 
or shoulder than at the 
middle of the bulb, 
whence it gradually 
tapers to a perfect tap 
root. Its skin, which is 
as fine as that of an 
apple, is, as far as it 

NEW KIN\'ER YELLOW GLOBE MANGEL. penctratCS thc SOll, Of Si 

bright orange tint. It is of superb quality and 
an enormous cropper, the great weight of eighty- 




MANGEL WURZELS FOR STOCK FEKDING. 



43 



four tons per acre having been grown of it." To 
this description we would only add that it is one 
of the very best strains of Yellow Globe mangels 
in cultivation, both for its high-feeding value and 
the enormous weight of roots that can be produced 
per acre under good cultivation. 

LARGE YELLOW OBERNDORF MANGEL. 

This variety has lately been introduced from 




LARGE YELLOW OBERNDOKP MANGEL. 

Germany, where it has been grown for many years, 
and is very highly prized by all dairy farmers. It 



44 VARIETIES OF 

is a very heavy cropper, as the roots grow to a 
large size. As will be seen from the illustration, 
it is particularly adapted to light or shallow soils, 
producing good crops where the long varieties 
will not succeed, aiul their peculiar shape and 
mode of growth render it a very easy matter to 
harvest them. In color they are a bright yellow; 
they are very nutritious and are highly relished 
by the cattle. 

YELLOW OR ORANGE GLOBE MANGEL. 

This is one of the most generally grown of all 
the different varietios of mangels, as it is very 
productive, easily pulled and an excellent keeper 
when stored in heaps for winter use. Jt is spheri- 
cal in sliape and is of an orange yellow color, 
though the portion growing above the surface is 
tinged with green. It is well supplied with erect 
green leaves, but not so many as would interfere 
with the bulbs ripening thoroughly. The flesh of 
the root is wliite, firm and sugary, and cattle are 
particularly fond of it. 

RED GLOBE MAN(;EL. 

This variety does not attain to the large size 
characteristic of most mangels, but is remarkable 
for its earliness and its smooth, symmetrical, globe- 
shaped roots. The roots are seldom over eight 
inches in length, but the length is fully equaled 
by the diameter, and as they can be grown very 
closely together they make as large a bulk per 
acre as the sugar beets; and on account of the 



MANGEL WURZELS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 



45 



earliness with which they mature, a good crop of 
them can be grown as a second crop on rich ground 
if they can be sown by the middle of July. 



YELLOW OVOID MANGEL. 

This is a very handsome olive-shaped variety. 
It has all the good qualities- of the Yellow Globe 
Mangel, and at the same time yields a much 
heavier crop. It is 
an excellent variety 
for limestone soils. It 
is very productive, 
and as it grows fully 
two-thirds of its 
length above the sur- 
face it is very easily 
pulled. The skin is 
an orange yellow, 
while the flesh is 
white, firm and high- 
ly nutritious. The 
quality of this beet 
is so rich that, owing 
to this and the fact 
that they will pro- 
duce twice the bulk 
of sugar beets on 
the same area, the 
amount of food per 
acre that can be taken from the soil in this variety 
exceeds that in a crop of sugar beets. 




YELLOW OVOID MANGEL 



46 



VARIETIES OF 



>l\m:motii prize long red :\[ angel. 

This is the heaviest 
cropping and possesses 
the finest feeding quahty 
of the long mangels. It 
grows to an immense size, 
single roots weighing 
Vom twenty to thirty 
)0unds each, and is al- 
ways of very fine texture 
and good quality. It is 
remarkable for the broad 
slioulder and massive 
|| shape of the root, by 
* wliich great weight is ob- 
tained, without that 
coarseness inherent in 
unimproved strains of 
seed. This variety has 
produced from sixty to 
seventy-five tons of roots 
per acre, and from its fine 
quality is one of the most 
valuable for feeding to 
cattle. At the Smithfield 
Chib Cattle Show, in Eng- 
land, specimens of this 
variety were exhibited 
weighing fifty pounds 
each. 




MAMMOTU PRIZH r.ONG UED 
MANGEL. 



PARSNIPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 

PARSNIPS. 



47 



These are well known as a table delicacy, but 
their value for the purpose of feeding cows and 
cattle is but little appreciated. The parsnip is 
rich in saccharine food, which adds greatly to the 
richness of the milk when fed to cows, while the 
fresh succulent roots increase 
the flow of milk as greatly as 
does the use of fresh green 
food in the spring. The pars- 
nip is especially valuable for 
this purpose from its extreme 
hardiness, as the roots can be 
left in the ground all winter 
and improve in quality by the 
continued freezing. They can 
be dug as wanted when the 
ground thaws in the spring, and 
will bridge over a gap between 
the end of the carrots and beets 
stored for winter feeding and 
the fresh soiling crops of later 
spring and early summer. 




IMPROVED GUERNSEY PARS- 
N I P. 



VARIETIES OF PARSNIPS. 
IMPROVED GUERNSEY. 

Four years ago we secured twenty-five pounds 
of seed of this greatly improved and remarkably 
fine kind, from a seed grower in New York, a 



48 



VARIETIES OF 



portion of which wc distributed among our cus- 
tomers for trial, all of whom were unanimous 
in praising the very choice quality of this 
parsnip. The roots do not grow as 
deeply as in the Hollow Crown Pars- 
nip, but are very bulky, we having 
just dug specimens measuring fully five 
inches in diameter at the shoulder. 
This is of great advantage in growing 
them, for stock feeding, as they not 
only yield a greater bulk per acre, but 
are much more easily harvested. The 
roots are smooth and free from small 
rootlets, while the flesli is of rich, fine 
flavor, and free from any core. 

LONG SMOOTH OR HOLLOW CROWN. 

This variety is tlie one most generally 
grown ; it is a great cropper, tender and 
sugary. The roots are of large size and 
penetrate the soil deeply, and while it is 
an excellent parsnip it is not so satisfac- 
tory as the Improved Guernsey. 



RUTA BxVGAS. 



These are the Swedish or Russian turnips, but 
as they grow much larger in size, require a longer 
season in which to grow, and are of greater value 
for feeding purposes than the ordinary turnips; 
we will treat on their culture, merits and varieties 



RUTA BAG AS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 49 

in a separate chapter. Great care must be taken 
in feeding ruta bagas and turnips to milking cows, 
especially the coarser and larger growing varie- 
ties, or they will impart a strong taste to the pro- 
ducts of the dairy, and will greatly injure the sale 
of the butter. While they are, for this reason, of 
doubtful value to the dairv farmer for feedino- to 
cows m profit, for the purpose of feeding to cows 
which have gone dry before calving, and to stock 
kept for fattening, they form a healthy, cheap and 
highly nutritious food. 

The ground for raising the ruta bagas is pre- 
pared and sown in the same manner as for beets 
or carrots, and their general culture is the same. 
They require a richer soil and heavier manuring 
than the turnip, and the seed should be sown from 
the middle of June to the middle of Jul}^ 

The ruta baga is a splendid keeper when stored, 
and should be kept until the other roots, except- 
ing the parsnip, have all been fed. 

VARIETIES OF RUTA BAGAS. 
LAKGE WHITE. 

Remarkable for its nutritious properties, hard 
flesh and long keeping. It grows to a large size, 
and is very rich and sweet flavored. It is superior, 
both for table use and for stock feeding. Owing 
to its hard flesh and long keeping qualities, it is 
invaluable for use in the late spring months. This 
variety should be sown late (about the middle of 
July) to have it in perfection. 



60 



VARIETIES OF 



LAING'S IMPROVED STRAP-LEAVED RUTA BAGA. 

The bulb of this variety is round, being almost 
a perfect globe. The portion of the root growing 
above the surface is of a purplish-red color. This 
kind is especially distinguished from the other 
varieties of ruta bagas by its having the leaves 
entire. -It matures early and is of good table 
quality, the yellow flesh being rich and fine 
grained. 



BURPEE'S IMPROVED PLT.PLE TOP YELLOW RUTA BAGA. 

This magnificent 
Swede is the result 
of judicious selection, 
and is the hardiest, 
most productive and 
tlie most nutritious 
variety in cultivation. 
It is a large purple top, 
yellow-fleshed variety ; 
the shape is oval, with 
a single tap root, the 
bulb being free from 
small fibrous rootlets. 
The neck is free from 
coarse, hard flesh, and 
for uniformity of crop- 
ping, and good keep- 
ing qualities, it is superior to all other Swedes. 
It produces a very heavy weight per acre, and 
keeps sound and good until late in the spring, 




IMPROVED PURPLE TOP RUTA 

i;aga. 



TURNIPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 



51 



while the flesh is always fine grained, sweet, and 
rich in flavor. 

IMPERIAL HARDY. 

A purple-topped variety, 
growing to a large size. It 
has a single tap root and 
small fine leaves. It has a 
fleshy top, the leaf stems 
breaking almost immediately 
above the crown of the bull), 
and is perfectly free from 
any hard, coarse flesh at the 
roots. It is a strong, robust 
grower, and is a certain crop- 
per- IMPKRIAL HARDY RUTA BAG A. 




TURNIPS. 



A large crop of turnips can be grown on a sandy 
soil where other roots would not succeed ; they can 
also be grown as a second crop to follow such 
grains as are not sown with grass or after other 
early crops, while in some sections a crop of turnips 
is raised by broadcasting the seed among the corn 
after the cultivator has been used for the last time. 
In these cases where they are grown as a second 
crop, the heavy manure which has been applied 
for the first crop will serve to produce a large 
crop of turnips as well. Thus the turnip crop is 
raised at very small expense, the only items being 



52 VARIETIES OF 

the small outlay for seed and the labor of prepar- 
ing the soil and harvesting the ])ulbs. It is these 
advantages, combined with the ease with Avhich the 
crop can be stored and kept for winter use, which 
give the turnips tluMr value whcMi comi)ared with 
other roots. In addition to the advantages already 
named, the turnip crop is sown and cultivated at 
a time when the rush of spring sowing and har- 
vest work are over, and there is not the same 
necessity for early harvesting the bulbs as with 
the mangels, as they are not injured by light frosts. 
Thus both the planting and harvesting come at a 
leisure time, which enables the farmer to profit- 
ably grow these as a root crop where the raising 
of carrots and mangels would involve additional 
expenditure for labor. 

While, as just stated, land that has been well 
manured for the first crop will produce a heavy 
crop of turnips without any further enriching, it 
might be of advantage to sow two or three hun- 
dred pounds of a good super[)liosphate per acre, 
broadcast, and harrow well in before sowing the 
seed, as it will help them to a (|uick, early growth. 
Do not apply more than the (piantity named, for, 
while turnips grown entirely with commercial 
fertilizers attain a quick growth, large size and 
handsome appearance, their quality and feeding 
value are greatly deteriorated, nor do they keep 
nearly so well as those grown with barnyard 
manure. 

As generally grown in this country, the ground 



TURNIPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 53 

to be planted in turnips is thoroughly worked and 
made fine, the seed is then broadcasted and rolled 
in and they receive no further attention until 
the crop, which consists of all sizes of roots, as 
they have had more or less room to stand and 
grow in, is ready for harvesting. While this is 
the only way in whicli they can be grown in con- 
nection with a standing crop, such as corn, where 
both of the crops occupy the ground at the same 
time, we think that where the ground lias been 
cleared of the preceding crop, it is much more 
profitable, taking into account the largely increased 
bulk of the crop and the improved quality and 
size of the individual bulbs, to sow the seeds in 
drills as closely as they can be worked. The young 
plants are then thinned out with a sharp hoe wlien 
they have shown the third leaf, and eacli has suf- 
ficient room to become fully develoj)ed, and no 
blank spaces are left, as is frequently the case with 
broadcasted seed. The soil is kept well stirred 
and all weeds killed, by frequent cultivation; the 
soil being in a fine, loose condition, enables the 
turnip to grow rapidly, so that the flesh is inuch 
finer in quality and the roots attain a much supe- 
rior size. To secure a large crop, the seed should 
be sown as soon after the first of July as it is pos- 
sible to prepare the ground in good order for sow- 
ing, although large crops may be grown from seed 
sown as late as the middle of August, if an early 
variety is sown. It frequently happens that at 
this season of the year the soil when prepared for 



54 VARIETIES OF 

sowing the turnip seed is nearly or perfectly dry; 
in this case the seed should be sown as the ground 
is made ready and well rolled in. It will then 
germinate without much moisture, and the young 
plants will take advantage of the first good shower 
to start into a quick growth. The rule to be fol- 
lowed in rolling all seed is that the drier the sur- 
face of soil is the more compactly it must be 
firmed around the seed, while if the soil were 
quite moist it would be sufficient to lightly cover 
the seed; any rolling or packing of the soil while 
in tliis latter state would make the surface hard 
and lumpy. 

If, when the young turnips or ruta bagas first 
appear, they are attacked l)y the black turnip fly, 
a slight dressing of land plaster or air-slaked lime 
should be broadcasted over tlie leaves early in the 
morning, while they are still wet with the heavy 
dew, care being taken not to apply it heavily 
enough to burn up or destroy the young plants. 

VAKIETIES OF TURNIPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 
EXTRA EARLY PURPLE-TOP MILAN TURNIP. 

This splendid new turnip is the earliest in culti- 
vation. It is fully two weeks earlier than the 
purple-top strap-leaf, the latter being the excellent 
" i\ed-topped " kind that has been most exten- 
sively grown for table purposes. The bulb of the 
Early Milan is very flat, of good size, smooth, deli- 
cate skin and handsome appearance. The flesh 
is pure white, fine grained, and very delicate in 



TURXIPS FOR STOCK FEEDING 



55 



flavor, and the roots keep all winter. With us 
the past season (1887) this variety has produced 




EXTRA. EARLY MILAN TCRXIP, 



the largest crop and the finest table turnips of any 
table variety that we have grown. 

A very popular variety in the Southern States, 

LARGE YELLOW OR A^rBLR GLOBE. 





YELI.OW OR AMBER r.LOBK 
TURNIP. 



YELLOW AKERDBE 



and one of the best and surest croppers. The 
bulbs grow to a large size, while the rich yellow 



56 VARIETIES OF 

flesh is solid, fine grained and sweet. It is quite 
hardy, and keeps in excellent condition until late 
in the Spring. 

YELLOW ABERDEEN. 

This variety is of round form, with pale yellow 
flesh of fine texture. It is very solid, nutritious 
and an excellent keeper. It is one of the most 
popular varieties for feeding purposes, and is also 
of excellent quality for table use late in the season. 

ROBERTSON'S GOLDEN BALL OR ORANGE JELLY. 

The flesh of this variety is rich, sweet and pulpy. 
It is of quick growth and an excellent keeper. It 
is fine for stock feeding and for table use. 

POMERANIAN WHITE GLOBE. 

This is a quick, strong-growing kind, with 
rough leaves. The bulbs are of fine quality for 




FO:,IKRANIAN WHITE GLOBE TURNIP. 

stock feeding. It is very productive, hardy, and 
is a splendid autumn variety. 



TURNIPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 



57 



RED TOP STRAP LEAVED. 

Very similar to . 
the White Dutch, 
excepting that por- 
tion of the bulb 
which grows above 
the surface is of a 
bright red or pur- 
ple color, adding 
very much to its 
attractive appear- 
ance. It is very 
early, and stands 
for some time with- 
out running to 
seed when sown 
early in the spring. 
The flesh is pure white, fine-grained and of mild 
flavor. The bulbs can, be kept in good condition 
throughout the winter. 

EARLY WHITE FLAT DUTCH. 

This is a strap-leaf variety ; that is, the foliage 
is one continuous band in each leaf, and not 
deeply serrated, as in some of the other varieties. 
The bulbs are very flat, like a broad dish in shape, 
being four to five inches in diameter and only 
from one to one and a half inches in thickness. 
It is a very early variety and is suitable for sowing 
late in the season, as it will perfect a crop in less 
time than- most other kinds. The skin and flesh 




RED TOP STRAP LEAVED. 



58 



VARIETIES OF 



are clear white, and the quahty of the flesh is 
excellent, being sweet, juicy, and of mild flavor. 

WHITE GLOBE STRAP LEAVED. 

The bulb produced by this new variety is of a 
perfect globe shape, and is about five to six inches 
in diameter. The smooth, thin skin is pure white 
in color, as is also the flesh. The flesh is firm and 
crisp, and of remarkably fine quality. The leaves 
are erect in growth and of pale green color. The 
roots grow quickly, and swell into the globe 
shaped bulbs at an early stage. It is a very hand- 
some and valuable variety, surpassing all other 
round white turnips. 

IlED TOP WHITE GLOBE. 

This is one of the 
best early varieties 
grown, and has become 
very popular. The 
bulbs are of large size 
and rapid growth. The 
roots are globe-shaped 
as in the preceding kind 
with the upper portion 
of the bulb of a bright 
red or purple color. The 
flesh is fine grained, 
sweet, solid, and of 
RED TOP wiiiTK GLOBK TuuNip. vcry fiuc quallty. It is 
one of the handsomest and most attractive varie- 
ties for marketing ; it is ready for sale early in 




TURNIPS FOR STOCK FEEDIxVG. 



59 




EARLY WHITK FLAT VinCH TURNIP. 




STRAP-I.EAVKD V.nim! OLODE TURSIP. 



60 



VARIETIKS OF 



the season, and keeps in good condition through- 
out the winter. 

WIUTE EGG. 

This is an excellent vari- 
ety for early or late use. The 
roots are egg-shaped, heing 
about one-third greater in 
length than in breadth. The 
skin is thin, very white and 
very smooth, while the flesh 
is pure, white, firm, fine 
grained and delicately fla- 
vored. It grows to a good 
size and is a good keeper. 

JERSEY NAVET. 

This is an excellent varietv 
for autumn sowing, as the 
bulb attains maturity in 
from two to two and a-lialf 
months after sowing. The 
bulb is nearly cylindrical, but 
is larger at tlie lower end 
than at the shoulder. The 
roots are about two indies in 
diameter at tlie thickest part. 
The flesh is wliite, very 
tender and sugary ; the leaves 
are numerous, short, and of a 
dark shining green. The roots 




WHITK KGG TUR.NT 




JKRSF.Y NAVKT TUKNIP 



become hollow if allowed to 
attain too lar^re a size. 



TURXI1>S FOR STOCK FEEDING. 



61 



LONG WHITE, OR COWHORN. 

The roots of this variety are very 
long, and are cylindrical in shape, 
tapering to a point at the lower ex- 
tremity. They are very often twisted 
or bent in shape after the manner 
imphed in their name. The roots 
grow from six to eight inches in 
length and are from two to three 
inches in diameter. About two or 
tliree inches of the root grows above 
the surface; this upper portion is 
cream colored or even bright green 
sometimes, while the portion grow- 
ing beneath the surface is entirely 
white. The flesh is white, fine 
grained and sugary. 



SWEET GERMAN. 

The flesh of this variety is white, hard and firm, 
partaking very much of the nature of a ruta baga. 
It must be sown mucli earlier than the flat tur- 
nip. In the autumn and early winter it is apt to 
be hard, but becomes mellow like an apple by 
keeping. 




LONG COWHORH 
TUENIP. 



SELECTING THE VARIETIES TO GROW. 



Selecting the variety to be grown is one of the 
most important points in connection with growing 
and feeding root cro})S. To obtain the most profit- 
able results, it must not only be the variety best 
suited to the soil and the one that can be grown 
at the lowest cost })er bushel, but must also pro- 
duce the greatest return when fed to the cows or 
fattening stock. 

We will tirst speak of the choice of varieties for 
feeding in tlie dairy. It is a generally conceded 
fact, which we will speak of in the chaj^ter on feed- 
ing, tliat coarse, rank varieties of turnips will im- 
part a strong, unpleasant flavor to the milk or 
butter when fed to cows in profit. We think that 
this great objection could be largely overcome by 
raising for feeding purposes the same fine varieties 
that we raise for table use. Not only is the flavor 
of these fine varieties much milder than those 
generally raised for feeding purposes, but the 
quality is much richer and sweeter, and these 
latter properties will tend to make the milk and 
butter proportionately richer than would the 
coarser-fleshed and poorer-flavored varieties. In 
feeding the roots to milk cows the period between 
the root in the raw state and the consumption of 

C2 



SELECTING THE VARIETIES OF ROOTS. 63 

the milk or butter is comparatively brief, and it 
can easily be seen that the finer the quality of the 
root the finer will be the milk. Not only would 
we advise the dairy farmer to grow the finest 
varieties of various roots for the above reasons, 
but because the dairy farm is frequently within 
reach of a market where he could dispose of a 
portion of his root crop for table use at a price 
much higher than what they would be worth to 
feed, and if the amount so realized were subtracted 
from the cost of growing the crop it would give 
him the balance left for feeding at a still lower 
cost per bushel. Too many of our farmer friends 
are apt to commence to reason at the other end, 
and think because the article is good for table use 
and a limited quantity will command a good price 
in the market, that it is too valuable to feed to 
cattle. A glance at any seedman's catalogue will 
show that the difference in the cost of the best 
varieties of seed and the coarser growing kinds, 
good only for feeding purposes, is not one-tenth of 
a cent per bushel in a good crop, and the expense 
of raising the two kinds is in other respects the 
same. 

Where the roots are to be fed to cattle, sheep or 
swine for fattening purposes, the fine flavor is 
not so much a matter for consideration, as the 
period between the consumption of the root by 
the steer or sheep and the consumption of the 
meat by the individual is much longer ; but even 
here it would be more profitable to use a kind 



64 HARVESTING 

which will not only yield the largest bulk of food, 
but in which the quality shall be rich, sweet and 
nutritious in the highest degree, as it will natu- 
rally tend to increase not only the quantity but the 
quality of flesh formed. 

HARVESTING. 

This process, where the crop to be gathered and 
stored is so great in bulk, should be carefully 
studied, so that it may be accomplished with the 
least expenditure of time and labor. As the tops 
of all the root crops must be removed before stor- 
ing, the question arises whether it can best be done 
before the roots are pulled or afterwards. The 
advantages of topping before gathering are, that 
the roots are firmly held in position and stand in 
line ready for the operation, so that the operator 
has the advantages of having both hands free and 
can proceed along the row very rapidly, while if 
the roots have been pulled and thrown in rows or 
heaps he must reach out for each root with one hand, 
grasp it tightly, and remove the top with the other. 
On the other hand, where the tops are not removed 
until the roots have been pulled, they serve as a 
handle by which the root can be lifted from the 
soil ; this would be of especial advantage in the 
case of carrots and parsnips, were it not that the 
top generally breaks off, leaving the root still fast 
in the ground. On the whole, we w^ould prefer to 
top the roots and remove or rake into windrows 
the loose leaves, before gathering the roots. This 



ROOTS. 65 

topping is done in a different manner for each of 
the different kinds of roots; thus, for carrots we 
use a very sharp hoe, passing along the row and 
cutting a small slice of the crown off of each root; 
this removes the leaves and crown at one stroke, 
and, as stated in the chapter on carrots, checks the 
tendency to sprout when stored. For beets the 
leaves are gathered in a bunch in the hand, grasp- 
ing them close to the neck of the bulb, they are 
then twisted or wrenched ofl', as if cut they are 
liable to bleed, which would tend to wither and 
spoil the root. The leaves should be thrown in 
windrows or heaps when wrenched from the bulbs, 
thus saving the operation of raking. For topping 
ruta bagas and turnips, a large knife should be 
used, one that is quite heavy and having a blade 
eight to ten inches in length, and it will add to 
the speed of the operation if it is kept sharp. The 
leaf stalks should be cut from one-half to one inch 
above the bulb, and by the use of a heavy knife, 
as described, they can be removed from each bulb 
by a single stroke. Of course, this method is only 
practicable where the turnips are grown in drills; 
where they are sown broadcast they can be pulled 
and thrown in heaps and then topped singly, but 
the latter is a much more laborious operation. 

After the roots are topped, all those which grow 
a sufficient portion of their length above the 
surface can be pulled by hand and loaded directly 
into wagons or put into baskets; care must be 
taken while handling the roots that they are 



66 STORING 

not bruised, or they will start to rot. Wliere the 
roots are too deep in the soil to admit of pulling, 
the plow can be run as closely to the row as pos- 
sible without injuring the roots, and they can then 
be dug with spades and digging forks, easily and 
rapidly. The harvesting and storing can be ac- 
complished much more rapidly, and the roots will 
be much cleaner and will keep better, if gathered 
at a time when the soil is loose and comparatively 
dry, as it will then be all shaken off by the re- 
peated handlings. 

The beets must be gathered before there is dan- 
ger of severe frost, as it will spoil them both for 
keeping and feeding. While the carrots are more 
hardy, yet for the reasons above stated, that is the 
ease of harvesting and cleansing them, we would 
dry and store them early, for when the frosts come 
the ground will be wet and heavy, increasing the 
labor of digging them and necessitating the wash- 
ing of the roots before they can be fed. The tur- 
nips arc improved by light frost, and should be 
left out in the latitude of Philadelphia until about 
the second week in November, or until there is 
danger of the ground being frozen hard. 

STORING THE ROOTS. 

For winter storage the idea generally prevails 
that expensive and elaborate root cellars are ne- 
cessary. While we concede the advantages of such 
facilities for storage, we claim that the roots can 
be kept in as good condition by the method which 



ROOTS. 



67 



we have used with unvarying success, and which 
is practiced by the leading dairymen of the vicin- 
ity. We have had an illustration of this method 
made, believing that it will greatly help the readers 
to clearlv understand the directions for storing: 
roots in this manner. 

A well-drained location is selected, and clean 
straw is spread on the ground two inches in depth, 
and covering a circle about four feet in diameter ; 
the roots are then stacked on this straw in a pyramid 




Method of storing roots in heaps. S, covering bed and ventilating 
chimney of straw, D, covering of soil, six inches thick. 

until no more can be added without rolling off. 
The heap of roots is then covered with two inches 
of straight clean straw, which is drawn together 
at the top and carried up one foot above the heap 
to form a ventilating chimney. This chimney 
should be about six inches in diameter, and if 
properly made will permit the escape of any 
gases or heat arising from the roots, and at the 
same time will keep out the frost ; the straw is 
then covered with three inches of soil, as shown in 



68 STORING 

the illustration, and a slight ditch dug round the 
heap to carry off any water which may collect. 
When there is danger of the ground freezing hard, 
this covering of soil must be increased until it is 
at least six inches in depth. 

It has been claimed by some writers that the 
use of straw or litter to cover the roots, as here 
described, causes tlie roots on the outer surftice of 
the heap to rot or mould, but this has not been 
our experience, and, as above stated, we have used 
this method for beets and turnips, and have never 
lost any from this cause. We have always been 
careful to use straight, clean rye straw, and are 
strongly in favor of this manner of covering, on 
account of the complete ventilation that it insures. 
We would recommend storing the entire crop in 
heaps containing from fifteen to forty bushels 
each, so that when a heap is opened, its whole con- 
tents are taken into the barn and fed before another 
is opened, thus insuring their keeping in good con- 
dition. It is, however, a common practice to pile 
the beets or turnips in long heaps, four feet broad, 
three feet in height, and as long as is necessary 
to contain the cro}) ; this is then covered directly 
with soil, adding to the thickness of the covering 
as the cold weather advances, until it is nearly or 
quite a foot in depth. When stored in this man- 
ner, a drain pipe should be set every five feet 
along the top of the heap, to act as a ventilating 
chimney, and on the approach of severe cold 
weather these must be stopped up with straw. 



TOPS. 69 

While this method of storing can be more quickly 
performed, we do not think it is nearly so success- 
ful or desirable as the system of storing in smaller 
quantities in separate heaps. 

Carrots may be stored in the same manner, but 
as they are to be fed at the beginning of the win- 
ter, we would haul as many as can be conveniently 
stored directly into the barn, putting the balance 
of the crop into ventilated heaps, as above directed. 

STOKING THE TOPS. 

This valuable portion of the crop is too often 
allowed to go to waste, and where not wanted for 
feeding, should either be hauled into the manure 
yard, to increase the supply of fertilizers or should 
be spread on the ground where the roots Tvere 
grown, and at once plowed under. The tops of the 
root crops are nearly of equal value for feeding 
purposes as the roots themselves, and as the 
w^eight of the tops is nearly one-third of that of 
the roots, the advantages of saving them to feed 
will at once be seen. The tops of carrots are fed 
the same as any other green soiling food, and 
should all be used before feeding the roots. The 
leaves of the beets may either be fed in a fresh, 
green state or can be stored and cured as described 
for the turnip leaves. The tops of the mangels and 
turnips, if required for feeding, can be kept for a 
long time with but little trouble. A trench should 
be dug in a well-drained situation, five feet wide 
and one foot in depth, the length being regulated 



70 FEEDING 

by the quantity of leaves to be stored. The leaves 
should be dry, and should be spread in the trench 
six to nine inches in depth ; they should be laid in 
evenly and regularly and should be gently pressed 
down. Then sprinkle salt over them at the rate 
of one pound for each square yard of surface. 
Another layer of tops is then added and more 
salt sprinkled on, increasing the quantity of salt 
as the heap rises. The heap of leaves should be 
rounded and brought to a ridge at the top, press- 
ing and packing them down as you proceed. When 
the heap is finished, cover with one or two inches 
of clean, straight straw, and then cover- the whole 
with earth, as in storing the roots, packing the 
surface of the soil so that the rain will not pene- 
trate the heap. In about two months the curing 
of the tops will be complete and they will be fit 
for feeding. They will be brown, but not the less 
nourishing or profitable, and cows fed on them 
will soon show it by the increased richness of their 
milk. 

FEEDING. 

What roots to raise for feeding, the farmer must 
determine from his soil and the needs of his mar- 
ket, but where the question is one of supplying 
the greatest quantity of green food that the cow 
can consume, we would advise the growing and 
feeding of a variety of roots. Thus, we would 
divide the cultivated crop of roots into one-third 
for carrots for early winter feeding, and two-thirds 
of mangels, the latter to be followed by turnips, 



ROOTS. 71 

raised as a second crop, as described. This method 
not only insures a constant supply, but gives the 
cattle the widest range of variety, which is neces- 
sary to maintain their relish for the food and en- 
ables the largest quantity to be fed. In the matter 
of quantity that can be fed, the advantages of roots 
over hay can readily be seen, as, according to the 
best authorities, a cow can only digest three pounds 
of the best hay per day to one hundred pounds of 
her live weight, while as high as one hundred 
pounds of roots per day have been fed to cows, 
with no injurious results. We do not, however, 
recommend the feeding of such large quantities 
of roots, as the cow soon tires of them under such 
circumstances, and all their good properties are 
lost. The quantity generally given is a large 
scoop shovelful of the chopped root to each 
animal night and morning, accompanied by four 
quarts of corn meal. We have found this practice 
to give good results. For richness of food and 
relative feeding value, the roots rank as follows : 
first parsnips, then carrots, beets, Swedes and tur- 
nips, and are fed in about the same quantities, 
excepting beets, of which double the quantity 
can be given. For the reasons stated in the chap- 
ter on turnips, these should not be fed to cows in 
profit, or if they are fed should be given directly 
after milking, that the taste imparted to the milk 
may be as slight as possible. It is well known 
that if cows on fresh pasturage in the spring are 
milked within an hour or two after coming in, the 



72 FEEDING ROOTS. 

taste in the milk will be strong, while if brought 
in at noon and allowed to stand several hours be- 
fore milking, the taste is hardly preceptible; thus, 
we think that if the finest varieties of turnips were 
fed, as above described, this objection might be 
entirely removed, though we have not yet tested it. 

Where roots are fed in large quantities, a root 
cutter will, of course, be indispensable, and w^e 
would advise the use of one which cuts the roots 
in slices one-half inch or less in thickness, rather 
than one of the machines cutting the roots in 
chunks ; in the latter the roots must be cut much 
smaller, as the cow will very often swallow the 
pieces whole, with danger of choking ; but if the 
roots are cut in thin slices, and the cow is not dis- 
turbed or frightened w^hile eating, there is no danger 
of any Such trouble arising. If by any mischance 
such a thing were to occur, the j)iece of root should 
be at once removed wath the hand. 

Where there are only small quantities of roots 
to be fed, the expense of a root cutter can be saved 
by grinding the edge of a spade and cutting the 
roots with it in a stout box or trough ; the meal is 
then placed on them and the whole mixed to- 
gether ; we consider this a better way than putting 
the cut roots in the feeding trough and then 
placing the meal over them. 



JUST PUBLISHED, 1888 ! A New Boot on Gardening : 

HOW AND WHAT 

to Grow in a Kilctien Garden 

OF ONE ACRE 

By E. D. DARLINGTON and L. M. MOLL. 
Edited by W. ATLEE BURPEE. 



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Raising Vegetable Plants — Transplanting — Sowing Seeds — 
Practical Directions for the Special Cultivation of all Vegetables 
— Notes on the Merits of the Different Varieties of Vegetables 
— Manures — Description, Proi>er Uses and Care of Garden Im- 
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Land and Manure — The Winter Storage of Vegetables — The 
Use and Management of Cold Frames in Winter — Winter Care 
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It is not too much to say that this book gives the most com- 
plete infonuatiou on the successful growing of these important 
crops that has ever heen published. The prize essays, carefully 
edited, are published in full, and are written by growers of 
long experience — Capt. G. H, Howard, of Suflfolk County, 
L. I., well known as one of the most successful and largest 
growers of Cauliflower and Cabbage in America, and by Mr. J. 
Pedeesex (Bjergaard), of Denmark, a well-known writer 
and grower. To these is added an appendix that will interest 
our lady friends, giving, as it does, the recipes for cooking these 
vegetables, furnished for this book by ^Ir. S. J. Soyer, Chief 
Cook to His Majesty, the King of Denmark. The book treats 
fully on :— 

How to succeed with CABBAGES— The Best Soils— The Cabbage a 
Greedy Feeder— Muiiures-Planting and Cultivatiun-Insects— Early Cabbages- 
Late Cabbages— Cutting and Marketing. 

CAULIFLOWER —Selection of Land— Making Seed Bed and Sowing 
Seed— Cultivation— The Earliest Forcing of Cauliflowers— Cauliflowers in the 
Open Ground— For the Family Garden— Enemies of the Cauliflower— Varieties 
—Tying and Bleaching— Cutting— Trimming— Packing ft)r Market— IIow to 
Keep for Winter Use— Numerous Recipes for Cooking Cabbage and Cauliflower. 

Few, if any, crops that can be grown on the farm yield larger 
returns than Cabbage and Cauliflower, and with this "How 
to Grow " Treatise success is reasonably assured. 

To be had of Houses handling Agricultural Books, or will be 
sent, postpaid, by mail, upon receipt of price by the Publishers, 

W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO., 

PHILADELPHIA, PA., AND LONDON, ENGLAND. 



POW JO GPOW 
Oj^IOJIS, 

WITH NOTES ON VARIETIES. 



An exhaustive treatise, giving in full the prize essay, with 
the above title, by Mr. T. Greiner, of Monmouth County, 
N. J., also Onion Growing by Irrigation, by Col. O. 
H. Arlie, of Lake View, Oregon — carefully edited, with 
additional notes, including an article on the Growing of Sets, 
by W. Atlee Burpee. Besides other matter, it gives com- 
plete instructions on all the following subjects : — 

Kinds of Soil— Preparation of the Soil— Manures : How, 
When and What Kinds to Apply — Seed — Sowing the Seed — 
Rolling— Cultivation— Hand Weeding— The Most Useful Im- 
plemeuts— Thinning— Injurious Insects — Harvesting the Crop 
— How to Market — Storing for Winter — American Varieties of 
Onions— Italian Varieties— How to Grow, Handle and Store 
Onion Sets — Onion Growing by Irrigation — General Remarks. 

Each subject connected with growing Onions is treated in a 
plain and practical manner, so that Farmers who have never 
before raised Onions for market can succeed, while even ex- 
perienced growers may find facts of interest. ILLUSTRATED. 

PRICE, 30 CENTS. Sent by mail, postpaid, to any 
address, upon receipt of price. Address 

W, ATU^^ BURFtt & CO., 

Seed Growers, 

PHILADELPHIA, PA. 



B^URPEE'S 

"HOW TO GROW" 

PRIZE ESSAYS. 



How to Grow Melons for Market 



Illustrated. Price 30 Cents, postpaid, by mail. 



Our cash prizes for best essays on this subject were vron by 
Mr. J. E. Rue, Jr., of Littleton, N. C; Mr. J. T. Rosa, of 
Waverly Mills, S. C, and special prize for merit by Wm. 
Bailey, Esq., of Zanesville, Ohio. In order to present the 
subject to our readers in the most comprehensive and concise 
manner, ■we have compiled from these essays and our own ex - 
perience a treatise that "we think will be of value to every 
melon grower. It treats of both Musk ^lelons and Water- 
melons, with full information on the selection of soil, use and 
application of manures, selection of suitable and profitable 
varieties, planting the seed, destruction of insects, copious notes 
on cultivation of the crop, how to grow extra large melons, how 
and when to gather for market, and how to preserve for late use. 

May be had of the Publishers of the Leading Agricultural 
Papers, or will be sent, postpaid by mail, upon receipt of price, by 

W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO, 

Nos. 475 and 477 North Fifth Street, 
Nos, 476 and 478 York Avenue, 

PHILADELPHIA, PA. 



TH^ 



Tr 





HOW TO FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. 



By W. ATLEE BURPEE. 



Full descriptions and large illustrations given of the leading 
varieties of Land and Water Fowls. It also contains chapters 
on Poultry Houses, Selection axd Mating of Stock, 
What and How to Feed, General Management, Dress- 
ing AND Shipping Poultry, Eggs and Chickens, Direc- 
tions for Caponizing, Diseases, How to Raise Good 
Turkeys, etc. , etc. Fully Illustrated. 

The New Edition for 1888 contains, besides the above, 
an illustrated chapter on the training and care of Scotch 
Colly or Shepherd Dogs, also new improved plans of Poultry 
Houses, with illustration. 

Price, 50 Cts. in paper ; 75 Cts. bound in cloth. Sent, post- 
paid, by mail, upon receipt of price by the Publishers, 

W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO, 

PHILADELPHIA, PA.. 
and at IS 3 Cannon St,, London, E. C, England, 



£^" Burpee's Illustrated Catalogue of Thoroughbred 
Lite Stock and Fancy Poultry sent free, on application, to 
all interested. 



PRICE, 30 CENTS. 



ROOT CROPS 



FOFw 



STOCK FEEDING, 



AND 



HOW TO GROW THEM, 



COMPILED FROM THE PRIZE ESSAYS AND PRACTICAL 
EXPERIENCE. 



EDITED BY 

W. ATLEE BURPEE. 



& 



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1888. 
j 
I PUBLISHED BY 

W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO., Seed Growers, 

I Nos. 475 AND 477 North Fifth Street, 

Nos. 476 AND 478 York Avenue, I 



PHILADELPHIA. 






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